Blue Skies
by astridelta
Summary: During a chance meeting in a forest miles outside of Konoha, Sasuke and Naruto fight once more; to the death. But when a mysterious white light appears as they are about to make their final blows, they find themselves in 21st century New York...and in more danger than they could ever find possible. SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

_Blue Skies_

_Chapter One_

**_"Wait, it's just about to break, it's more than I can take. Everything's about to change." -War Of Change, Thousand Foot Krutch_**

Naruto Uzumaki was not your average shinobi.

He was loud. He wore orange and refused to eat anything that did not contain noodles or pork in it. He was the Kyuubi Jinchūriki and had yet to learn the ways of mastering the beast inside of him, especially after nearly killing his sensei in the process of making that attempt.

But he was also different in the sense that he was bound and determined to bring his best friend back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, no matter the cost. Even if it meant breaking every rule placed upon him or charging headfirst into a dangerous situation, Naruto refused to abandon his teammate, his long time rival, his best friend...Sasuke Uchiha.

The Uchiha had always been an enigma to Naruto; the exact opposite of what the blonde was. He was quiet, he wore dark clothing and ate healthy. But he was also the last surviving member of the once mighty Uchiha Clan, said to have eyes so fearsome even the most vicious of criminals would cower before the eyes that reflected emotions. The firebreathers, and the avengers. Because that was what Sasuke was: an Avenger.

Naruto never truly understood what Sasuke meant by that description. First, the Uchiha had been set on avenging his clan, all of whom had been murdered by his older brother, Itachi Uchiha. The two siblings had always remained a mystery to Naruto, no matter how many times Sasuke brought the gruesome past up. The blonde never knew what it was like to have a brother, much less to have that brother murder his entire family in front of his eyes, so he couldn't relate to Sasuke in that respect. He certainly could understand Sasuke's emotions though, better than most people in the village. It was just too bad Sasuke refused to see that Naruto, too, could have pain.

And that was why Sasuke had left. The promise of revenge and power had been too tempting, a better way out of the pain he had endured since childhood. Naruto hated that. He hated the fact that Sasuke had chosen Itachi over the whole of Konoha, over Team 7...Kakashi, Sakura...himself. That, Naruto thought, was what hurt _him_ the most out of this situation. After Sasuke had acknowledged him, after Sasuke had become his best friend...the Uchiha tried to kill him and left him behind.

Even now, as Naruto sat under the open sky in a clearing just outside of Konoha, he felt a familiar ache just under his right shoulder, where Sasuke had pierced his body with a Chidori, and the blonde wanted to believe so badly that Sasuke hadn't meant to do that. That he hadn't wanted so badly to kill off the Jinchūriki. But the proof was there, both in the wounds Sasuke had left on Naruto as well as the Uchiha's absence in the blonde's life for the past three years.

A warm wind brushed through Naruto's hair as he reminisced in the memories of Team 7, and he sighed as he realized that was all that Team 7 currently was. Memories, a chapter of a book that had long since ended. Naruto grimaced when he thought of books. The mere mention brought back _more_ memories that he particularly didn't want to dig up right now...memories of Jiraiya.

Sitting up, Naruto rubbed his hand through his hair to comb out any snarls in it and closed his eyes, feeling the sun beating down warmly on his orange and black sweatjacket and orange pants. It was an unusually warm day in the Fire Country, and despite the heat Naruto had decided to dress in his normal attire. The blonde allowed himself a quick smile as he stood up and shook his arms, feeling the annoying stinging of blood loss in his hands and in his feet while he rose.

A yawn escaped his lips and he rubbed at his eyes in irritation while the sounds of construction echoed in the woods around him, the noise originating in the still recovering Konoha. Naruto frowned and opened his eyes as voices began to approach the clearing he stood in, recognizing one of them to be Konohamaru. The kid wasn't that bad; in fact, Naruto liked having him as an apprentice. He just go so damn annoying sometimes.

Naruto wondered if he had been like that when he was younger.

Deciding that he didn't want to deal with the boy at the moment, Naruto quickly turned to his left and jumped up, landing on a branch near the trunk of a tall pine tree and used the momentum of his impact to push off, deeper into the thick foliage in front of him. The blonde listened as construction continued in the village as he ran, and tried not to feel distressed at how little progress had been made in the three months following Pain's attack.

Not even a third of Konoha had been rebuilt, and most of that had been because of Yamato using his Mokuton style to create houses and shops again. And yet Naruto supposed he should be grateful; an apartment building was one of the first buildings to have gone up, and he had immediately been given a room in it along with furniture that had been salvaged and donated by the villagers to him.

But there was still a profound sadness inside of Naruto that refused to go away. Despite Nagato having revived everyone he had killed in his attack, and finally coming to terms with his definition of peace, the blonde realized how close he had been to losing Kakashi, Hinata, and over half of Konoha's population. He never wanted to experience pain like that again...but since he was a ninia, the possibility of Naruto keeping everyone he cared about safe was highly unlikely...

The snap of a twig underfoot broke Naruto from his inner musings.

Freezing in a crouched position, Naruto looked down and noticed Konohamaru's loud voice had ceased, replaced by the deliberate footsteps of something that was unmistakenably trying not to be discovered. Narrowing his eyes, suspicion grew inside of Naruto despite the weariness he felt from getting a cumulative sixteen hours of sleep over the past week due to helping with the reconstruction process, and he decided to slowly make his down the tree trunk to see who the mystery person was.

Channeling chakra into the soles of his feet, the blonde walked vertically down the oak tree and carefully pulled a kunai from his weapons holster, sensing that whoever this person was, they were masking their chakra signature well. As soon as his feet touched the leafy forest floor, Naruto looked up and saw a cloaked figure with a hood drawn over their head walking away from him steadily, heading in the direction Naruto had come from. "...Hey," Naruto called once he realized the figure hadn't found him.

As soon as the word left the blonde's lips, the figure stiffened and stopped in their walk. The hood turned, implying the person was looking over their shoulder, as Naruto strode cautiously towards them. "Who are you," Naruto demanded. The figure didn't respond. Grimacing, Naruto took another step closer so that he was standing right behind of the person. Neither moved as they analyzed each other, Naruto trying his damnedest to discern the person's identity.

Finally, the blonde lost patience and clapped his hand on the figure's shoulder, flinging the cloak aside and covering his vision for a brief moment while a hand clasped around his throat. Eyes widening, Naruto pushed the cover away from his head to meet Sasuke Uchiha's fathomless black eyes staring back at him. The raven's grey shirt was half-way unzipped, and Naruto noticed in annoyance that the stupid navy blue skirt/shirt thing was still tied around his waist with that purple rope thing.

"What do you think you're doing...Naruto," Sasuke sneered as he shoved Naruto roughly against a tree trunk, the wood shivering and leaves cascading around them. Naruto coughed and glared at Sasuke in return. "I could ask you the same thing," he choked out past Sasuke's grip on his windpipe. "Why the hell...are you here," he continued when Sasuke continued to stare at him blankly. The Uchiha cocked his head to the side as if to appraise the blonde's appearance.

"I heard...that Konoha is not doing so well," he drawled out finally, loosening his grip slightly on Naruto's throat. The blonde's vision became dizzy with the little amount of oxygen that was reaching his brain. "Let go of my throat," he growled, and Sasuke seemed to scowl slightly. But it might have just been Naruto's imagination. "...So _this_ is Konoha's 'hero'," the Uchiha hissed maliciously, and then his fingers were clenched tighter on Naruto's neck.

"Able to take down the Akatsuki leader, but unable to fight against his _best friend_." The last two words Sasuke spoke slowly, almost spitting them past his clenched teeth. Naruto raised his hands and clamped them around Sasuke's wrist, yanking the raven's hand away from his throat. Coughing and sucking in air as fast as he could, Naruto bent over and put his hands on his knees while glaring at Sasuke past tears. The Uchiha stared back almost smugly, his still black eyes watching the blonde with an emotion akin to boredom in those dark depths.

"Although, I do hear that the Kyuubi was quite a lot of help to you during that fight..." Sasuke crossed his arms as Naruto stood straight, anger coursing through him at the mention of the fox demon. "Don't go there Sasuke," he warned lowly and picked up the kunai he had dropped on the forest floor as Sasuke had dragged him to the tree. The Uchiha arced an eyebrow. "Oh? Are you still depending on that demon for power?" Sasuke mocked. Naruto's hand twitched.

"I said, don't go there," the Jinchūriki snarled. Sasuke smirked, but not like he had used to. Not like Naruto longed for him to. This small smile was cold, it was unforgiving. It was the smile of a maniac. "You don't have the power to stop me," the raven stated as if it were an obvious fact. "You can't bring me back to Konoha, you can't stop me from destroying it. Face it, _Naruto_...without the Kyuubi, you are nothing." Naruto recoiled as if Sasuke had struck him, his back shoving against the tree behind him and his eyes widening with shock.

"...Why the hell are you here...and why are you saying all this," he whispered. And there that smile was again, lifting Sasuke's lips into a terrifying cresent shape. "I'm just seeing how my old home is doing," the raven said, his eyes narrowing as he said "home". "In fact, I was hoping to have done some of this damage myself. But it looks like this 'Pain' beat me to it..." The Uchiha's eyes trailed away from Naruto's face to stare up at the sky. "Besides, I could ask you the same question...you're pretty far from the village, Naruto. Are you planning to go looking for me again?" Sasuke chuckled, but the sound was heavy with hidden anger.

The blonde flinched, but stood straight again. Sasuke glanced back down at him, but this time the red of Sharnigan was what met Naruto's sky blue glare. "I will bring you back," the Jinchūriki snarled, and then he ran forward. In a flash, Sasuke drew his katana from behind his back, the sound of steel striking steel echoing in the forest as the Uchiha parried Naruto's kunai. "Make sure you actually try this time," Sasuke said from behind his blade, both weapons shaking with the force the each boy was putting behind the attacks.

Naruto grit his teeth while they leapt apart, before each one coming together and again blocking the other's blows. Naruto shoved his shoulder under Sasuke's katana and into the raven's chest, sending him flailing backwards. Then the blonde ran forward and attempted to punch Sasuke in the gut, the Uchiha twisting in the air and avoiding the blow. Then he leapt up and brought the heel of his foot crashing down on Naruto's back, sending the Jinchūriki crashing in the forest floor. "Ugh!" Naruto groaned while Sasuke put his foot on his head, digging the side of his face into the dirt.

"What's the matter?" Sasuke mocked and pressed down harder. "I thought you had gotten better over these past three years. But here you are, a worthless Konoha shinobi at my mercy. I expected better than this." Naruto scowled and kicked his legs down, forcing his torso up and grabbing Sasuke's ankle, flinging the Uchiha down and leaping up. "I have gotten better," Naruto snarled. Sasuke laughed. "Then prove it," he spat and stood holding his left wrist in his hand as the sound of birds chirping began to fill the air.

Angee coursed through Naruto, and he quickly summoned a Kage Bunshin while Sasuke busied himself, and then cupped his right palm for the Rasengan that was forming rapidly. Both boys looked up at the same time, red locking with blue, and then they charged forward. That was when Naruto noticed his attack was going to reach Sasuke last. Blue and white light filled Naruto's vision...

Then he was flung back. But not by Sasuke's Chidori, nor was Sasuke flung away by Naruto's Rasengan. Landing on his back and skidding on the leaves, Naruto looked up and winced as a pure white orb floated where Sasuke and Naruto had been just seconds away from killing each other. Blinking, Naruto raised his palm to shield his eyes, and noticed Sasuke do the same, each one staring at the orb as the light expanded. Whiteness enveloped Naruto's form, and he suddenly felt weightless, but at the same time extremely heavy, as the ground vanished beneath his form and he began to fall.

* * *

Sasuke blinked his eyes open at the sound of birds chirping.

The raven didn't even dare to open his eyes yet; he could tell there was more light above him, and the light that had enveloped him earlier was still causing him to see spots behind his closed eyelids. _That damn orb_, he thought angrily. He had been so close to killing Naruto! Whatever that thing was, he was going to make it pay...

Feeling grass underneath his palm, Sasuke raised his hand to his forehead and shielded his eyes, slowly blinking them open and managing to stare at a cloudless blue sky, hearing more birds and the sound of people...wait a minute. He and Naruto had been in the middle of a _fucking forest_, there were no people around them for miles! Sitting up quickly, Sasuke took his hand away from his forehead and saw that he was lying in an open expanse of grass, which seemed to extend for about fifty feet in all directions before meeting a gravel path, along which walked people. Actual people.

Confusion fell on Sasuke as he watched the people just walk by, without even sparing him a second glance, and then he looked to his left to see Naruto lying on his side, still seemingly unconscious from whatever thing that had attacked them. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke smirked as he realized the opportunity to kill Naruto was close. But then he realized he was still within eyesight of anyone who happened to look in the boys' directions as he shoved his hand into the blonde's chest.

Then panick reached the Uchiha as he realized he couldn't feel his chakra.

"This is impossible," Sasuke hissed and tried to activate his Sharnigan, dismayed when his vision didn't enhance. Looking up, Sasuke saw trees lining the gravel paths in front of him in equal intervals, and above them stood towering metal structures, reflecting the sun's rays with massive panels of tinted glass.


	2. Chapter 2

_Blue Skies_

_Chapter Two_

**_"Something in the air. Something's coming...A storm's approaching." -The Tenth Doctor, Doctor Who_**

The sound of voices broke through Naruto's muddled consciousness the next time he grew aware of his surroundings. A warm wind brushed across his cheeks, and for a moment the blonde could almost believe that what had transpired between himself and Sasuke was all a simple dream; he had to have fallen asleep. The surroundings were too similar.

But that unstable hope was broken when Naruto's eyes fluttered open, and he saw great towers of steel and glass above his head. A yell rising in his throat, Naruto leapt up onto his feet with his hand flying to his right thigh to pull out a kunai from his weapons holster, only to find that the pouch was not taped down to his leg. Glancing down in shock, Naruto saw that even his typical orange pants were missing, replaced with black denim jeans, white tennis shoes in the place of his black shinobi sandals.

Whipping his head up, Naruto tried to make sense of where the hell he was. It seemed he was in a park of some sort; he stood in a clearing lined by small trees and gravel paths, along which walked families, couples, or just single people jogging. "The hell..." The Jinchūriki whispered and looked down at his chest, which was covered by an orange tank top.

"...Way to draw attention to yourself."

Naruto spun on his heel at the voice and saw Sasuke standing about four feet away from him, arms crossed over a blue tee shirt and a smirk on his features. Naruto scowled. "What sort of genjutsu have you put me in!" Naruto shouted and pointed an accusatory finger at Sasuke. The raven glowered at the obnoxious blonde. "I have nothing to do with this," he growled. "Bullshit," Naruto spat and stalked forward, clenching his fist around the collar of Sasuke's shirt and pushing him back.

"Want me to prove it to you?" Sasuke asked scathingly. "Yeah, actually, I would," Naruto replied. Sasuke ripped his clothing from Naruto's grasp and stepped back, forming a seal with his hands. "Kai!" The raven demanded, and unlike Naruto expected, the area around them didn't waver back to the forests of Konoha. Blinking in surprise, he watched as Sasuke slowly let his arms fall to his sides. "Whatever this is...it's real," Sasuke explained and narrowed his eyes.

"Maybe you just don't have enough chakra to get us out," Naruto said, panick seeping into his voice as he copied Sasuke's hands from earlier. "Kai!" He shouted. Nothing. Looking down at his hands, Naruto suddenly noticed how...empty he felt. "My chakra," he whispered in shock. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Now you get it?" He asked mockingly. Naruto glared at him. "But wherever we are...this means the Kyuubi isn't...inside me," he said, half talking to himself.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow as Naruto began to pace in front of him, arms crossed behind his head. "What does that have to do with anything," the Uchiha asked in annoyance. Naruto was being an idiot as always, but even he could see Naruto was _worried_. "Jinchūrikis...we, uh...we can't...live without our Bijuu inside of us," Naruto explained slowly, and Sasuke blinked. "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked.

Naruto stopped pacing and turned to stare at him. "If I don't have the Kyuubi with me, then how am I still alive," he demanded loudly, and Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see people staring at them oddly. Looking back at the blonde, who was breathing heavily, Sasuke sighed. "Shut up for a second," he growled and turned. "We have to get somewhere more quiet so we can figure out what the hell is going on."

Naruto begrudgingly complied and walked behind Sasuke as the Uchiha turned and made his way towards a gravel path, noticing with distaste the boy somehow had the Uchiha crest on the back of his shirt. The raven's grey pants almost blended into the walkway as the two reached it. Unbeknownst to Naruto, even Sasuke was slightly worried about the absence of chakra in...wherever they were.

It just made killing Naruto that much more difficult.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto asked as they walked and, much to Sasuke's annoyance, quickened his pace to walk at the raven's side. "What," he muttered back. "Why didn't you just leave, if you woke up first?" Naruto continued. Sasuke kept his eyes focused on the ground in front of him and shoved his hands into his pockets. "None of your business," he replied. In reality though, Sasuke hadn't left because, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to do that.

Plus being all alone in a place he didn't know, much less understood, sucked. So he had taken the option of sticking with Naruto despite how annoying the blonde was. Naruto scowled and turned his eyes forward as well, then looked up at the sky. Neither boy talked after that, but Sasuke noticed Naruto was almost twitching by the time it seemed they had reached the exit of the park, and were met with an all new challenge.

A black asphalt street lay before them, covered in white and yellow paint while great metal...things hurtled down the road. Horns blared and screeched as light reflected off of the metal beings, almost blinding Sasuke. Slight fear rose in him when he couldn't recognize what the hell these things were. Likewise, Naruto seemed to shiver and bent low as if anticipating an attack. Scanning the road, Sasuke noticed a metal pole on the other side with a yellow box in it, a red hand glowing inside of it.

Then the hand switched to a white man, and people around the pair began to cross the road as the unknown machines stopped. "Let's go," Sasuke demanded and grabbed Naruto's fist, which was clenched tight by the blonde's side, and dragged him behind himself across the road. Looking inside each machine as he passed, Sasuke saw people sitting inside and waiting impatiently to go once more, and then he turned his eyes back to where he was walking.

Once the two had safely crossed the road, Sasuke dropped Naruto's hand and looked around, trying to find where to go next. He had left the park to find somewhere more quiet, dammit! But this city-like place was easily ten times louder than the enclosed grassy expanse..."Oi, what now," Naruto asked when he noticed Sasuke was just standing by his side, staring up at the metal buildings with a scowl.

"I don't know," Sasuke growled turned to the left, looking down a strip of concrete that people were walking on. "This way," he said and walked that direction, knowing Naruto would follow him. And as Sasuke looked over his shoulder, he did see Naruto trailing behind with his head bent, like he was thinking about something serious. Sasuke snorted. _Naruto never thinks about what he's doing,_ he thought in amusement as they approached a corner and turned left.

Strange, yet enticing smells flooded Sasuke's nose as he rounded the corner, and he saw advertisements for all sorts of restaurants lining the walls to his left. Fenced off eating areas crowded the walkway and people carrying plastic bags approached the pair. Picking out a restaurant at random, Sasuke pointed at it. "Over here," he muttered and began to approach it. Naruto, clutching his stomach unconsciously, followed the raven through a pair of glass doors and into a dimly lit room.

A man in a black shirt and a white apron quickly approached the pair. "Table for two?" He asked, and Sasuke begrudingly nodded. He never was good with this whole "social interaction" business. "Right this way, sir." The man quickly turned and entered through an open archway, and Sasuke led Naruto through a barrier of tables until their waiter paused right next to a maple table with two chairs on either side of it, a low lit stained glass lamp hanging above their heads.

Naruto immediately plopped himself into his chair with a sigh, spreading his legs under the table while Sasuke slid into his seat more gracefully, clenching his fists together over the table. The two stared at each other for a few moments, Naruto trying to find _something_ in Sasuke's blank gaze while the raven found himself annoyed with how easily he could read Naruto's emotions. Then he finally decided to speak. "What did you mean earlier," he asked quietly.

Naruto blinked once. "Huh? Oh, about the Jinchūriki thing." The blonde laughed quickly. The emptiness of his mind felt strange, but there was a strange scratching in his throat that would not go away..."I learned this from Granny Chiyo...when a Bijuu is sealed inside of a person, their chakras meld together sometimes. My seal was...designed, I guess, to allow some of the Kyuubi's chakra into my system at all times. So it's in those instances where if the Bijuu is extracted then...the Jinchūriki's is as well."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "So, without the Kyuubi, you'd be dead," he summerized slowly and leaned forward. Naruto nodded. "But you're still alive," the Uchiha continued in confusion. Naruto looked away and crossed his arms. "Yeah, that's why I'm...worried," the blonde stated. Sasuke leaned back in his chair as a waiter approached them. "What can I get you two to drink today," the woman said politely, her blonde hair tied back into a high ponytail and a pad of paper with a pencil in her hands. "Water," Sasuke said. "Uhhh..." Naruto stared at the laminated menu in front of him.

"What's this...Sprite stuff?" The Jinchūriki asked. The waitress smiled, and Sasuke closed his eyes. Naruto _was_ as stupid as always..."It's a soft drink," she explained. "A soda." "Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll have that Sprite thing," Naruto said, and the waitress wrote it down on her pad. "Have you decided what you want to eat yet?" She asked, and Naruto looked over at Sasuke quickly while the raven replied. "Not yet," he said stiffly. The woman nodded and smiled at Naruto before turning and leaving the table.

Sasuke sighed again, and noticed Naruto staring at him curiously. "...What," he snapped. "How're we gonna pay for this?" The Jinchūriki asked. Sasuke smirked. "When I woke up I had some weird green paper slips in my pocket," he said and pulled the stack out to show the blonde. "I'm assuming this is the money here." "And if it isn't?" Naruto asked. Sasuke shrugged. "Then we just get out. It's not like they know who we are...or that they can even catch us," he said.

Naruto scowled but didn't have a chance to rebuke as the waitress returned with a water and a Sprite, the latter drink seeming to fizz in its glass. "Decided yet?" She asked aftre she had set the glasses down along with two straws in paper wrapping. Sasuke stared down at his menu, reading a bunch of foods that he hadn't even known existed. "Oh, this "Steak with Tomato...Gorgon...zola sauce' sounds good," Naruto said and pointed at a picture on his menu to emphasize his point.

The waitress wrote down on her pad and returned her attention to Sasuke. "And you?" She asked kindly. "...Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup," he muttered. "Any sides?" The waitress asked as she wrote down his order. Naruto started to open his mouth to speak, but Sasuke cut him off. "No," he said, and Naruto scowled as the woman said "We'll get that right out to you" and walked away. "If this green paper is money then we need to hold on to it," Sasuke hissed as soon as the woman was out of earshot. "Whatever," Naruto muttered.

"We have to figure out how to get back," the blonde said under his breath. "You think I don't know that," Sasuke growled. "Wherever we are, it's a place without chakra. I don't like it." Naruto nodded. "But at least you don't need that chakra to survive," he snapped, and then breathed deeply through his nose. "A little while ago, Sakura-chan and I were sucked into a gen-jutsu world by Madara. We couldn't escape it, but it was almost an exact replica of our world...except for a few changes. Maybe he did something similar this time."

Sasuke thought about the idea. "I doubt he could come up with something this elaborate though," he countered. "This place...it's entirely different from our world. There's no simalarity." Naruto scowled. "I'd like to hear your brilliant idea then," he said. Sasuke stared at the blonde. "Maybe we simply got teleported somewhere," he offered. "There's a lot of villages and cities that could look like this." "But who would do that," Naruto rebuked. "There was no-one around us for miles." "I don't know," Sasuke snarled and leaned forward.

"All I know is, I'm stuck in some strange place with you, the last person I want to be be with. Because you're just going to spout some crap about how I should come back to a place that ordered my own _brother_ to kill my entire family, including me, but he didn't! He left me alive, and look where I am now!" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "At least you had a family to begin with," he hissed, a rare display of anger in his blue eyes. "I don't give two shits about how long you had them. At least you did get to _know_ your parents. I met my dad right before the Kyuubi was about to kill me!"

Sasuke blinked. "How did you meet your father?" He asked suddenly, changing the subject so rapidly Naruto felt dizzy from the anger he had released. "Apparently when he cast the seal on me for the Kyuubi, he stored some of his chakra in it," the blonde muttered. "In case the seal got close to breaking, so he could stop me and talk to me." "Wait," Sasuke said as Naruto began to continue. "I thought the Fourth was the one to..." A spark seemed to go off in his head, and Naruto smiled smugly. "Now you got it?" He asked, mocking Sasuke's choice of words from earlier.

"...Your father was the Fourth?" The raven asked in barely concealed surprise. Naruto nodded. "...Damn," Sasuke breathed out. Naruto chuckled. "You know, for a guy who wants to kill me...you're not the total bastard I thought you would be," the Jinchūriki said. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Don't think I won't kill you when I get the chance," he warned. Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes. "You didn't kill me at the Valley of the End," he said. "You didn't kill me at Orochimaru's lair, and you didn't kill me at the bridge where you killed Danzo. I see a pattern, and that's surprising, since I'm me."

Sasuke scowled as he realized Naruto had a point. "Shut up," he muttered and noticed their waitress approaching with the food. "Here you go," she said and put a plate of steak covered in red sauce in front of Naruto and a bowl of dark soup in front of Sasuke. "Enjoy," she said and smiled at Naruto again before leaving. "Mmm...Choji would be so jealous if he could see me right now," Naruto said as he breathed in the scent of his food. Sasuke snorted and picked up a spoon that was set on his napkin and began to eat.

The clanking of silverware filled the silence inbetween the boys until each had finished their meal.

"...So," Naruto said and noticed the itching in his throat was getting worse. "What do you think we should do now." Sasuke looked up at the ceiling. "...I guess we should get some hotel rooms..." He muttered. "I'm suspecting we'll be here a while." Naruto nodded and took a drink from his cup, finding the Sprite to be very nice. Except it didn't help the burning of his throat and now lungs. "I think we should go back to the park too and see if there's anything there," Sasuke continued as the waitress approached with the bill.

Hoping he had picked out the right amount of cash, Sasuke signed a fake name onto the line at the bottom of the paper set in front of him, then stood and waited for Naruto to follow him. "So, let's go find somewhere to-" Sasuke cut off as Naruto suddenly stopped behind him, just inches away from exiting the restaurant. "...Wait a sec," Naruto wheezed as the itching in his throat came to an all time high, and he bent over with his hand covering his mouth as he began to cough.

Sasuke watched impassively as Naruto heaved in front of him; he suspected the blonde just drunk his drink too fast and was now suffering the consequences...

But that thought was driven away when Naruto's hand came away from his mouth with drops of blood in his palm.

* * *

Hey everyone!

So this is obviously a new story, and it's an idea I've had for a long time, actually longer than the one I had for Crimson Eyes, but I didn't want to write this until I got better at making an AU storyline. So just to explain some things, in this fanfic the actual manga and anime "Naruto (Shippuden)" does not exist, so no-one knows who Naruto and Sasuke are. And them appearing in normal clothes and Sasuke having money is something I'll be explaining later on in the series. :) I decided to start this now just to get away from Crimson Eyes for a bit, and to get some inspiration back for it.

So until then, enjoy this story! :) -Astridelta


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